| PYPO
MODERN FEMINISM Elizabeth Thorp joins PYPO, a multimedia site for women that puts a humorous lens on serious issues. BY VIRGINIA COYNE
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lizabeth Thorp is no wallflower, nor does she fear exposing herself, her predicaments and her beliefs. When the former editor-in-chief of Capitol File was laid off from that job last year, she allowed a repost of the gossip column reporting her departure on her Facebook page, noting the Washington Post had at least chosen a flattering photo. And when she transitioned to her new job leading editorial content for startup PYPO, one of her early essays on the site was entitled “Your Mistake, Our Win,” in which she likened her firing to being set free. Now she’s using that same chutzpah to tackle feminist issues at a time when the meaning of the word is in transition. PYPO, which harnesses the talents of writers, actors and producers, recently partnered with the White House’s “It’s on Us” campaign to release a comic skit during Sexual Assault Awareness Week in which a woman in PYPO Editor-in-Chief Elizabeth Thorp at Cafe Milano. (Photo by Tony Powell) a chicken suit is painfully questioned about what she did to bring on inappropriate advances from a man. During the White months, through the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. House Correspondents’ Association dinner weekend, PYPO premiered And then I was unexpectadly laid off that following Monday morning, another tongue-in-cheek video at an Atlantic Live feminism panel. so I texted Stephanie literally as I was driving out of the garage and said Called “Feminism Pill,” the skit starring actors Domenick Lombardozzi, “Hey, I just got laid off,” and she wrote back, “You’re hired.” Here’s this Matt Servitto and Jackie Debatin, portrays a husband suddenly caring comedic irony of all the things we were talking about with PYPO. I about issues such as maternity leave and equal pay after accidentally told her I wasn’t ready [for the job] out of loyalty to this magazine, and taking his wife’s medication. then I go in on Monday and I’m terminated. WHAT IS P-Y-P-O? First of all, it’s prounounced pie-po, like typo. It’ll roll off your tongue like Google, I think, in a few years. PYPO stands for Put Your Pretty On. Our founder is Stephanie Laing, the director of HBO’s “Veep” and a new show called “Vice Principals.” A couple of years ago she said to her daughter “Come on, it’s time to go” and her daughter, who was four at the time, said, “Excuse me, I’m not ready yet. I have to put my pretty on first.” What that meant for her was chapstick, but it became their mantra of ‘get your game face on.’ Stephanie started a blog called Put Your Pretty On and always knew she wanted to create this place, this multimedia site, and was going to call it PYPO. So, that’s where it came from—this little girl who at a very tender age knew that she had to get her stuff together before leaving the house.
HOW DOES THE SITE DIFFERENTIATE ITSELF? The best way to communicate that is by saying it’s a women-owned, women-focused Funny or Die mixed with Vice. What I love about PYPO is that you can pipe in and engage in a two-way conversation. People who see a video or read an essay they like can immediately give their thoughts. On our Facebook page, for example, in response to the “It’s on Us” video, it was really poignant to see so many women say, “Oh, this happened to me. I was sexually assaulted and the police blamed it on my miniskirt” or “They told me I was asking for it.” Sometimes these more serious issues need to be addressed and seen through a humorous lens because, especially during election season, we’re talking about them over and over and it’s kind of hard to break through the clutter and have people listen.
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED? I interviewed Stephanie for a story a couple of years ago and she and I really hit it off. We kept in touch and in November, I met her in New York for a quick glass of wine. She said “I want to do this. I want you full time as my editor-in-chief.” My first question was “Is it paid?” [laughter] and then I said, “I want to do this,” but told her I felt like I owed it to Capitol File to stay a few more
WHERE DO YOU SEE IT GOING? WHAT DO YOU ENVISION A YEAR FROM NOW? I really feel it’s going to be a platform. It could be, maybe not a year from now, almost like a Netflix or Amazon, where we have original programming mixed with important editorial pieces and thought leader pieces, giving the opportunity for women to showcase their sketches or essays or directing skills.
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